1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data processing method, a data processor, and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus capable of providing progress information relating to a processing being executed.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a user performs some sort of processing on a computer, a progress bar may be displayed on a display screen to allow a user to know the progress status of the processing being executed. This progress bar gives the user an indication of how much progress has been made or how long the processing will take. On the other hand, a user can similarly know the progress status of each job performed in an embedded device such as a digital multifunction machine via a PC display or the embedded device's display. Conventional techniques that allow an easy grasp of the progress status of each job are as follows.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-7651 discloses a technique in which a progress meter indicates how much of the entire print processing has been completed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,487 discloses a technique that enables a user to grasp the progress statuses of a plurality of different jobs via the same screen.
Currently, an application can be operated in an embedded device such as a digital multifunction machine. It is desirable that a user can check the progress status of an application executed on an embedded device as in the case where an application is operated on a PC.
However, the processing flow of an application operated in a digital multifunction machine includes the execution of a job. In this case, if execution units for the application and the job are individually present, the progress status in the application execution unit and the progress status in the job execution unit are required to be separately displayed. Therefore, it is difficult for a user to determine how much of all the processings have been completed.